Lester Hunter, “I’d Rather Not Be on Relief” (1938) Lester Hunter left the Dust Bowl for the fields of California and wrote this poem, later turned into a song by migrant workers in California’s Farm Security Administration camps. The “C.I.O.” in the final line refers to the Congress of Industrial Unions, a powerful new industrial … Continue reading Lester Hunter, “I’d Rather Not Be on Relief” (1938)